The Ultimate Time Management Principle

Posted on June 22nd, 2010 by Keith Ferrazzi

As proud as I am of the program we created for Relationship Masters Academy, I’m even more proud of the content that’s being published there by users themselves.

Here's one idea I loved, the ultimate time-management principle: Always tell the truth. That wisdom was served up in the RMA forums by Jason Womack of the Womack Company.

Simple but powerful!

Think of how much easier everything would be if you just told the truth. You wouldn’t have to waste energy posturing, or track the little white lies. Even better: Think of how much easier everything would be if everyone else told the truth! Office politics would fade away and solutions would be achieved so much more quickly.

To wit: A 2008 study by Salary.com found that office politics were a time-wasting distraction for almost half of American workers. Pull yourself out of the political posturing and experience an immediate jump in focus and effectiveness!

John Smith, another RMA participant shared the following story in the forums:

“A long time ago I was a supervisor for the Air Force recruiting mission in central Iowa. The first piece of advice I provided to new recruiters was to tell the truth. Your integrity is yours and how others measure you. Telling the truth saved time, because we did not raise false expectations. We did not have to scramble to apologize or correct our mis-truths. When I started out my team was ranked 203/207 three years later we were consistently in the top 10. I believe our simple philosophy worked well.”

Being unfailingly honest not only builds character and integrity, it is also efficient!
As the old saying goes – honesty is (truly) the best policy.

Do office politics waste your time at work?

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23 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. I so don't like office politics... have been perpetually self-employed for 20+ years as to avoid going in the office and wasting time with all the BS!!!
    The truth is way more efficient.
    The truth gives you more time to do what you love.
    "...the truth will set you free."

  2. littlepitcher says:
    June 22, 2010 at 5:07 am
    Reply

    A lie is the exact equivalent of a computer virus in an information system. The truth is the foundation of all science and all good human relationships.

    Office politicians are time-wasters, creaters of discord, and stress-inducers. Unfortunately, in the current business climate of "whatever it takes", they get their way precisely because they are willing to lie for advancement.

    • ithastogetbetter says:
      June 22, 2010 at 5:23 am
      Reply

      Unfortunately, sometimes they are the ones in charge, and they do get those advancements, perpetuating the problem.

  3. The most lasting and valuable philosophy I learned as I began my career was from a favorite boss who said, "Always tell the truth, but don't always be telling it." That concept helped me to say what needed to be said, particularly in emotion-charged situations such as performance review time as an employee and as a future manager of others. Eventually, it has become a lesson that I have shared with others in the workshops and trainings I conduct as a management consultant.

  4. The body does not lie! Paul Eckman, John Grindler, Richard Bandler, and many others tell us that the body always reveals - often in ways we cannot control - what we are really feeling or thinking. Not the thought, just the contradiction is revealed in muscle responses, body language, etc.

    The truth is so much easier to live with as we don't need to be hyper-vigilant to maintain the story.

    Emotional Intelligence helps us to know and understand this on a practical level. There is a spiritual level to telling lies and the consequences of deception as well.

    Just be honest. It makes everything so much easier!!!

  5. Telling lies can be habitual. Starting to tell the truth more often, as you advocate, is a great thing to do in so many ways, but it can be hard to do when we're used to the short term gains to be had from lying.

    The key, I believe, is to make truthfulness a habit. Start by consciously telling small truths sensitively, even though it hurts a bit.

    With practice, patience, persistence and a healthy dose of humility, the rewards really start to pay off.

  6. Honesty is the best policy; unfortunately, not everyone wants to know nor can they handle the truth.

    This reminds me of the court room scene in the movie 'A Few Good Men' when Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) demands..."I want the truth!"

    Col. Nathan R Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson) responds..."You can't handle the truth!"

    Honesty without the right delivery can be received negatively and be even more detrimental in the early stages of a relationship. Like a hatchet, the truth can definitely cut through the unwanted banter and office noise. It can also severe relationships unknowingly.

    Caution is highly recommended when wielding the power of truth. That is just my opinion.

  7. It is a bit sad that this topic deserves a blog post, but it does seem clear that dishonesty runs rampant in the public and private sectors with the constant backpeddling (ie. "When I said I didn't do X, what I meant was I did do X").

    How much of this dishonesty is a result of employer/voter/shareholder expectations and reactions to the truth? How many people actually understand how good it is when the people that are accountable to them tell them "I think this is unsafe/unsound/unprofitable."

    I am self-employed and likely always will be because it gives me the freedom to give truthful counsel to people I encounter through my profession. I suspect I lose a lot of work as a result, but it is absolutely true that the relationships we build on this foundation are extremely efficient and rewarding.

  8. This is not always true in reality.
    When i call off because i've came back too late from a trip last night and i had not enough sleep, i cannot tell the truth to my boss. He will not take it, because this is not acceptable and is seen like an insult to his authority. I better be telling him that i am sick this morning, and this will be accepted.
    The truth is not applicable in all situation. The truth is not always "professional".
    Unfortunatly.

    • Bob Francis says:
      June 22, 2010 at 11:45 am
      Reply

      Geth,
      If you were late because your plane was delayed or you had problems on your return drive, what is wrong with telling him/her that? If you just didn't plan well enough to get back in time so you had plenty of rest for work the next day, yeah, I can see why you would call in sick.....

      Do you understand what professional means? If you are too embarassed to tell your boss the truth, perhaps there is another problem.

      I have been a manager for 22 years. I have had 346 different people work for me. I have heard EVERY excuse in the book and I can always tell who is giving me the truth and who is giving me the business.... ALWAYS.

      Bob

      • Bob,
        I told the truth, but the reaction of my manager was to reprimand me.
        His reaction let me understand that maybe if i didn't tell him the truth it would have been accepted.
        I think that there's a lot to do with the manager, and that mine has to affirm his authority so he better likes it when you don't confront it.
        A lot of people prefer lies, even if they know that they are lies.

        Geth

  9. Dani Ticktin Koplik says:
    June 22, 2010 at 10:40 am
    Reply

    I agree that telling the truth is ultimately more efficient but that's hardly the reason to do it and diminishes its real value. In addition, "time management" doesn't exist: time is the quintessentially perishable commodity and marches on no matter how we try to manage it. But what we can manage is ourselves and the choices we make. And that speaks to the intentional building of a personal brand based on character, integrity and credibility, all of which will contribute to more genuine, authentic relationships. In other words, to tell the truth simply to be more efficient smacks of a utilitarianism that undermines genuine connection.
    also, I believe that office politics is a byproduct of human nature and can't be avoided; in fact, when understood and leveraged properly, office politics can be very effective in achieving desired results. That said, it's important to distinguish between politics, which is the practice of building and deploying influence, and gossip mongering, bullying, sabotage, etc.
    So, net net:
    - tell the truth because it's the right thing to do, it establishes credibility and becomes the basis of trusting relationships.
    - manage yourself rather than your time and
    - understand the nature of influence and how to wield it in constructive, productive ways

  10. I have been in the finance/office environment for over 30 years. The last 10 years been the most unbearable. All I have seen is management hiring sychophants, friends, brown-nosers, family members, etc., all incompetent. When I found serious errors in the accounting books, computer systems, etc., I made the corrections. When management was told, nothing was done to admonish the employee.

    The company went belly-up and all were laid off. I'm wondering if the next employer will be their incompetence.

    • Bob Francis says:
      June 22, 2010 at 11:49 am
      Reply

      Kittyjean,

      Why don't you run the next office you work in? You have been doing it by your own admission for 30 years! How much more experience and knowledge could you need? Run the office like an office should be run!

      Bob

  11. Unfortunately, Office politics are a way of life at most companies, large and small. How many companies want 'the truth' but the manager is just looking for validation of their idea, not real feedback. I'm sure we have all worked for firms where someone gets promoted due to tenure, not performance. A company I worked for allowed a certain number of promotions per quarter; therefore, the one getting promoted first was the one who would cause the biggest uproar if passed on. Not due to performance. I worked for a large Fortune 500 company where the only way to be noticed was to align yourself with the 'right people'. You could get passed by for aligning yourself with 'the wrong people'. That Fortune 500 company didn't want 'truth' they wanted someone to play the part.

  12. Italians have a saying that translates as follows: "Lies have short legs."

    Indeed they do. It's a much better -- and easier -- use of one's time to tell the truth and infinitely more complicated and ulcer-forming to remember which lie you told whom.

    Plus, it's exhausting to string people along. My boss -- a film and TV producer -- hates confrontation so, when people meet or call him to pitch ideas, he usually says, "Sure - I'd love to read it." And then he avoids people's calls or ignores emails. When people call me up to pitch story ideas, on the other hand, I listen and generally tell them right away whether it's something we would be interested in or not. Most of the time, the ideas aren't for us, but I like to think people appreciate my polite but firm no upfront.

  13. Genius. Mark Twain had it right: "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

    Great post. Thanks for the forum. Best, M.

  14. One of the reasons I like being an entrepreneur and working remotely is that I don't have to deal with office politics. I despise it and have little respect for people who engage in it. When I worked in an office I sometimes didn't have many friends because when I saw people jockeying for attention or posturing I called them on it and pissed them off in the process.

  15. Great post, Keith!

    @James: I agree with you about telling the truth as it can be damaging when delivered carelessly. It can also be a time stealer when you haven't developed the relationship which causes people to needlessly waste time figuring out your motives/intentions and deciding what to do about it.

    I also think it's critical to examine what the truth is. My truth could be different than your truth. Initially getting all of our "truths" on the table could take time, but in the long run, it will save time and help us understand each other better.

    In my communication with others, especially during times of conflict, I do my best to tell _my_truth without blame or judgment (Visionary archetype outlined in "The Four-Fold Way" by Angeles Arrien).

  16. Tim McMullin says:
    June 27, 2010 at 2:51 pm
    Reply

    Sure this appeals to our childhood inculcated values where our parents and presumably our teachers and other authority figures where concerned solely with what was best for us in absolute terms, and were more mature and knowledgeable on what that was.

    In the adult workplace there are managers and competitors who cannot be expected to hold our best interest in absolute terms. Adult workplaces are not like movies where the honest chap eventually gets his due and the prevaricating political chap gets his just desserts as well.

    I heard the phrase that "simple, fast rules are sometimes for 'simpletons'" and unfortunately that maybe true; life is complex. But I do think that telling the truth as we know it (and sometimes we may be a little too sure of what we "know") whenever possible and being forthright works best in most cases. I would always err on that side. Ditto with sharing information and your feelings. You will likely at some point get burned by doing both, even if you are careful but it's playing percentages really.

  17. Is 'truth' ambulatory?

    "Some talk about truth but not about danger,
    when you're on ice that's thin they'll tell you its winter,
    without knowing their rules, their truth is a lie"

    Chris Rea

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